16/09/2026
Cadence — Performing Arts Center | 95,000 sq. ft.
Cadence was conceived as a single cultural building for four programs : a grand theatre, black box theatre, art gallery, and indoor and outdoor dining.
The plan is organised around one long internal street, expanding at its centre into a full-height atrium. In the absence of an external plaza, this becomes the building’s principal gathering space — the place of arrival and encounter before and after a performance. From here, the different programs remain visually connected, allowing the building to read as one shared cultural experience rather than a collection of separate venues.
The grand theatre works with a different kind of constraint. A fixed seating capacity had to accommodate multiple modes of performance while preserving a sense of proximity to the stage. Two balconies therefore wrap tightly around the room, bringing the audience inward rather than extending the auditorium deeper.
Its architecture reinforces that intimacy. Continuous timber-lined surfaces fold across walls, soffits and balcony fronts, softening the volume while integrating the acoustic character of the room into its expression. The geometry remains fluid and enveloping, with concealed lighting tracing the major curves and emphasising the theatre as a single, continuous interior rather than a collection of architectural elements.
Elsewhere, the building is deliberately more restrained. Rough-hewn, open-pore travertine gives the exterior its weight, while vertical fins filter daylight through the façade and establish a measured rhythm across its long elevations.
The restaurant opens directly from the central spine, but operates independently of the performance schedule, extending the life of the building beyond the hours of a show.
Studios PMB
Architecture + Design